Hoarding involves ongoing difficulty letting go of possessions, regardless of their financial value or usefulness to others. Keeping things may feel necessary, and the thought of parting with them can bring considerable distress.

Over time, belongings may accumulate to the point where rooms become difficult to use for their intended purpose.

Hoarding is nothing new, but the way we understand it has changed over time.

In 1996, psychologists Randy Frost and Tamara Hartl helped explain why some people find it difficult to part with belongings.

Their research looked at three things: finding it hard to let go of possessions, belongings building up and making spaces difficult to use, and the distress or difficulties this can bring to everyday life.

In 2013, the American Psychiatric Association officially recognised hoarding disorder as a condition in its own right, rather than simply treating it as part of OCD.

Further reading: Hoarding Disorder: Development in Conceptualization, Intervention, and Evaluation

How Can Hoarding Show Up in Everyday Life?

The dining table becomes a place to store things rather than eat.

Finding something you need takes longer than it used to.

A spare room gradually becomes difficult to enter or use.

Visitors become less frequent because having people over feels uncomfortable.

Sorting through belongings becomes a job for another day.

Sometimes these changes happen so gradually that they're barely noticed.

We don't fully understand why hoarding develops. Research has identified several contributing factors, but no single cause explains everyone's experience.

These may include family history and genetics, differences in how we process information and make decisions, or difficult life experiences such as loss or trauma.

Hoarding can also occur alongside anxiety, depression or OCD. For some people, holding on to possessions may provide comfort, security or a sense of control.

What contributes to hoarding, and what keeps it going, can be different for each person.

What we see in a living space is only part of the picture.

Our thoughts and feelings, health, relationships, circumstances and surroundings can all influence how we live and what we hold on to.

Looking at these different parts of life can help us understand why managing a living space may be easier at some times and more difficult at others.